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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 7 Hansard (18 June) . . Page.. 1840 ..

MS REILLY (continuing):

I am also finding it difficult to comment on this report in any detail because I have been unable to visit any of the facilities about which the Official Visitor is reporting. I have requested many times, over a number of weeks, a briefing on children's services in the ACT and a visit to the Quamby centre. I thought it would be useful to see the facilities there first-hand. If you look at the report you note that the Official Visitor raised a number of issues to do with the physical nature of those facilities. There seemed to be a great reluctance to enable me to visit these facilities. This leads one to ask a question. Why? What is happening within the children's services in the ACT, and in particular at Quamby, that there is no way of finding out what is going on? So, Minister, what are you hiding?

However, going to the report, we need to look at the number of issues raised by the Official Visitor. In relation to the report and the work done by the Official Visitor, Bill Aldcroft, I would like to commend his commitment and diligence in undertaking the duties outlined in this report. This report that he provided is both thorough and considered, and I think it should have been treated with due respect and tabled more quickly.

That aside, we need to look at some of the issues which he has raised in the report. He notes that the staff of these facilities cooperate fully with him in his role as Official Visitor, and I think that is commendable. He also notes that he has not received any serious complaints from parents, children or the staff, and that is another positive point about it. He does point out that it is very hard for the staff to maintain their morale in the trying conditions under which they have to work. I understand that the Minister has taken some action with regard to the Kaleen House Youth Shelter and things are not the same as was outlined in the report that Mr Aldcroft provided. I would ask whether this was a response to the Official Visitor's report, even though you did not want to release that report when it first came out.

However, Quamby appears to be a different situation, going on the report, which is the only thing I can go on, and the Official Visitor has raised some serious issues. I think we need to look at some of those. I am hoping that you will be able to tell us that they have all been resolved and the year in between has seen great changes. I am sure that you could also claim, "Some of this happened under a previous government, so it is not my business". I hope that you will not do that, because I think it is important, in view of the nature of those facilities and the people who use them, that these issues are taken and dealt with as soon as possible.

The Official Visitor talks about the need for young people - I understand that most of them are about 17 - to receive "physical and recreational training during the period of exercise". This comes from the UN resolution, section 22.2. He also notes that the plans to build a gymnasium have been scrapped, so there is very little area in which these young people can do any exercise. I would suggest that young men - I think they are mainly men of 17 - need the opportunity to get rid of some of that energy and aggression that they have in full capacity in about that age group. But maybe you can tell me that circumstances have changed in the last 12 months. Maybe it is no longer the case that

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